For obvious reasons, there is immense scrutiny on Red Bull and their driver pool. In just twelve months, four drivers (Tsunoda, De Vries, Ricciardo and Lawson) have raced for VCARB – Red Bull’s second team. However, for all the conversation surrounding which drivers are behind the wheel, there is a fundamental issue being overlooked. VCARB are not fast enough.
Red Bull are not providing their drivers with a competitive car at VCARB
Red Bull have lost a lot of ground in this year’s development race. There are no shortage of articles analysing the Austrian team’s decline and the emergence of McLaren and Ferrari.
Amidst this focus on Red Bull, another team is suffering the consequences of their decline – VCARB.
Roughly twelve months ago, it was announced that VCARB would work more closely with Red Bull. After two relatively underwhelming campaigns in 2022 and 2023, Christian Horner’s team decided to take a more proactive role in VCARB’s development.
In theory, this change was designed to make the Italian-based team more competitive. For some time, this approach yielded results.
Yuki Tsunoda was often ‘best of the rest’ at the beginning of 2024, regularly scoring points and even putting himself 10th overall in the standings. Unfortunately for the Japanese driver, top-10 finishes have become increasingly difficult to come by.
Much like Red Bull, Laurent Mekies’ personnel are struggling with development. Upgrades are not working as the wind tunnel data suggests – meaning the VCARB 01 has been stagnant in terms of performance.
As a result, neither Tsunoda or Ricciardo secured points in the races after the summer break.
What this means for Tsunoda and Lawson
For any driver or team, a lack of competitiveness is a problem. However, VCARB’s lack of pace is especially detrimental to their drivers.
Whilst senior personnel like Christian Horner and Helmut Marko are capable of assessing a driver’s performance independent of the car – having a faster package inevitably helps a driver increase their market value.
Fighting for P12 or P13, regardless of performance, is unlikely to make waves in F1 – especially with the ongoing Championship battle at the front.
This means that Tsunoda and Lawson could struggle to deliver stand-out performances in the coming rounds. VCARB are struggling to score points, which does not bode well for a team designed to provide a competitive enough platform for Red Bull to assess their drivers.
Of course, this is not to suggest the Faenza-based team cannot improve. Moreover, it would be a stretch to say that Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson will go pointless for the remainder of 2024.
Nevertheless, VCARB’s lack of performance is quickly becoming a limiting factor. Unless they can find some pace, they could become an afterthought in what remains of the season.
